Q: How large is this production of Don Quixote in terms of sets, backdrops, props, etc.?A: The sets and props filled seven 40’ high cube containers; costumes filled another container. These are the large containers that you see at the port coming in on ocean-going ships. For most of our story ballets the stage is set to create between 1700-1800 square feet of dancing space. Don Quixote is so expansive that there will be 2200 square feet of dancing space. There was more lumber and building material used to construct this ballet than Coppelia, Cinderella, and The Sleeping Beauty combined.The set and costumes together has been said to be of a value of $3,000,000.

SEATTLE, WA – Pacific Northwest Ballet is honored to present the American Premiere of Alexei Ratmansky’s spectacular, full-length Don Quixote. The largest production ever presented in PNB’s history, Don Q runs from February 3 through 12, 2012 at Seattle Center’s Marion Oliver McCaw Hall. Tickets start at $28 and may be purchased by calling 206.441.2424, in person at the PNB Box Office at 301 Mercer Street, or online at www.pnb.org.

Ratmansky’s production, created for Dutch National Ballet in 2010, has been hailed as “the best version of this ballet…exciting and hot-blooded dance” (De Telegraaf). The immensely popular story ballet combines Ratmansky’s acclaimed Russian fluency with classical tradition, lush sets and costumes, Ludwig Minkus’ rousing score (featuring the mighty PNB Orchestra), and legendary technical feats. Don Q's bravura classical dances showcase soloist virtuosity as dramatically as its mime and humor reveal accomplished character players. At the center of the ballet’s passionate Castilian heart, Minkus' score endows each scene with rich atmosphere, deepened by Jérôme Kaplan’s (Roméo et Juliette) vibrant costumes and amber-washed sets. All elements combine with Ratmansky's innately expressive movement to treat theater-lovers of all ages to a breathtaking theatrical experience.

Brimming with wit and romance, Don Q follows Spain’s legendary hero Don Quixote and his faithful squire, Sancho Panza, to the famed city of Barcelona on a quest for his dream lover, Dulcinea. Instead, he meets the high-spirited Kitri whose father would rather she marry a rich fool than the penniless but dashing Basilio. The couple takes flight and their adventures, reflected by the Don’s visions, fill the stage with teaming street life, the cadence of castanets and tambourines, flashing fans, and whirling matadors.

Emmy Award-winning actor Tom Skerritt (“Picket Fences”) – who, in addition to roles in such films as Top Gun, Alien and Steel Magnolias, played a former ballet dancer in the hit film The Turning Point -- makes his ballet debut in the lead role of Don Quixote. His devoted squire, Sancho Panza, will be played by Allen Galli, familiar to Seattle audiences from 30 years of appearances with every major local theatre company, including a previous stint as Sancho Panza in Village Theatre’s Man of La Mancha. (The roles of Don Quixote and Sancho Panza will be played by PNB ballet master Otto Neubert and principal dancer Jonathan Porretta, respectively, at the Saturday February 4 and 11 matinees, and the “Eyes On Dance” school performance.)

Don Quixote is the largest production in Pacific Northwest Ballet’s history. The production originally cost Dutch National Ballet $3 million to build, and will cost PNB $860,000 to premiere. Other factoids:· Don Q is so expansive that it requires 2,200 square feet of dancing space on stage; most of PNB’s story ballets require just 1,700 – 1,800 square feet.· Eight shipping containers were required to transport the elaborate sets and costumes from Amsterdam to Seattle.· More lumber and other building materials were used to construct the ballet than were used to create PNB’s Coppélia, Cinderella and The Sleeping Beauty, combined.· The production utilizes 280 costumes and props, including 47 wigs and hairpieces, requiring the work of eight hair and make-up artists at each performance. (PNB’s company is about half the size of Dutch National Ballet: Some dancers will change costumes up to five times in one performance.)· The hats worn by the Torreadors are authentic matador hats made in Madrid.· The masks for the six monsters in Don Q were made by a company that worked on the Lord of the Rings movies.

While he's speaking about 2/3 in, Sarah Ricard Orza is to his right, and I think that was Margaret Mullin to his left. Mullin suffered an injury right before the Princess Grace Award ceremony, and hopefully, this means she's back.

ETA: They're rehearsing the Dream Scene from Act II. In the HNB video, the roles would be Korbes=Kitri, Foster=Cupid, and Chapman=Queen of the Dryads. Gilbreath, Kitchens, and Dec are the three demi-soloists in the section before the jumping diagonals.

Here is a video from a photo shoot with Carla Korbes and Karel Cruz; Angela Sterling is the photographer:

I have no qualms whatsoever in declaring that Angela Sterling, Carla Korbes, Karel Cruz, and Alexei Ratmansky are all exceptional artists at the top of their game, but after having seen this show stopping video of a photo-shoot no less, I have to wonder if the videographer Lindsay Thomas hasn't almost surpassed them all. Remarkable!

P.S. It's her creative and dramatic editing that blows me away. (She always seems to match to the music.......even in those clips where the music isn't even from that ballet.)

Gilbreath, Kitchens, and Dec are the three demi-soloists in the section before the jumping diagonals.

My favorite comment in this video is when Ratmansky stops the dance (at 0:54) commenting to the pianist (Christina Siemens) that the tempo is too fast for the dancers to do the steps properly -- indeed Ratmansky says that at that speed it is almost impossible to do......then Ratmansky goes on to say: "They did it actually."

One on my most beloved aspects of our PNB company is its speed (I smell the ghost of Mr B ........thanks Francia).

P.S.

While he's speaking about 2/3 in, Sarah Ricard Orza is to his right, and I think that was Margaret Mullin to his left

PNB just posted the TV ad spot to Facebook via YouTube -- the post says it will premiere during the Golden Globes broadcast -- with Rachel Foster as Kitri, Seth Orza as Basilio, Maria Chapman as Mercedes, and Batkhurel Bold as Espada. The Dream Scene went by too fast for me to identify the Queen of the Dryads (to the right) and Amor (in the middle). It also announces Tom Skerritt as Don Quixote.

Interesting how they used footage from some previous performance (Dutch National Ballet, I presume) to show the scenery and wide angle scenes, but then superimposed images of PNB dancers in full costume on top of that footage to give the impression that this promo was shot on the PNB stage with all PNB dancers (which is, of course, impossible at this early phase of the process).

Here is a video from a photo shoot with Carla Korbes and Karel Cruz; Angela Sterling is the photographer:

I have no qualms whatsoever in declaring that Angela Sterling, Carla Korbes, Karel Cruz, and Alexei Ratmansky are all exceptional artists at the top of their game, but after having seen this show stopping video of a photo-shoot no less, I have to wonder if the videographer Lindsay Thomas hasn't almost surpassed them all. Remarkable!

P.S. It's her creative and dramatic editing that blows me away. (She always seems to match to the music.......even in those clips where the music isn't even from that ballet.)

She showed her film of the Ochoa Cylindrical Shadows at a local dance film festival -- it looks even better on a large screen!

Interesting how they used footage from some previous performance (Dutch National Ballet, I presume) to show the scenery and wide angle scenes, but then superimposed images of PNB dancers in full costume on top of that footage to give the impression that this promo was shot on the PNB stage with all PNB dancers (which is, of course, impossible at this early phase of the process).